"Why does it have to be so big? Do they think we're blind?"

- The Garbage Helicopter

Alright, Sundance— we know you think you're great. But it's arguably in this Benelux city of immigrants where the more daring discoveries are made. The International Film Festival Rotterdam premieres works from some of the freshest faces in contemporary world cinema, and Variety and THR don't even show up to cover it.

Championing works by first and second-time directors, Rotterdam has earned its reputation as an incubator and launch-pad for emerging voices, especially from the developing world. The festival's Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart supported ten of this year's eighty-eight Foreign Language Oscar submissions; both El abrazo de la serpiente and Mustang went on to be nominated.